Florida Attorney General Enlists Residents in the Fight to End Human Trafficking

If you suspect cases of human trafficking, contact local law enforcement

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Attorney General Ashley Moody is enlisting more Floridians in the fight to end human trafficking.

Moody made the announcement today in Sarasota County that all of PGT Innovations will receive anti-human trafficking training through the Highway Heroes campaign.

PGT Innovations is the largest private-sector employer in Sarasota County and enlisting the company in the campaign will add more Truckers Against Trafficking certified commercial driver license holders on Florida roadways.

Highway Heroes is a multifaceted outreach campaign including specialized training, awareness materials mailed directly to CDL holders, and a website with resources to educate drivers on how to identify victims and report suspected human trafficking.

The campaign started in October 2020 through a partnership between the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

“I am thrilled to announce the expansion of our Highway Heroes campaign,” said Moody.

“Providing anti-human trafficking materials and training to the PGT Innovations team brings us one step closer to our goal of ensuring every CDL holder in Florida knows the signs and ways to report human trafficking. I am so grateful to everyone at PGT for signing onto this noble cause and helping our state in the fight to end this horrific crime.”

PGT Innovations is a leading national supplier of premium windows and doors, with four manufacturing locations in Florida employing more than 4,000 team members.

“We’re honored to partner with Attorney General Moody’s office in support of their Highway Heroes program,” said PGT Innovations President and CEO Jeff Jackson.

Our PGT Innovations fleet is one of the largest in Florida, and our drivers travel over 1.8 million miles per year across the entire state to deliver our products.

The Highway Heroes training will provide invaluable skills for our drivers to identify and report the signs of human trafficking.

In addition, we will be including this training as part of our new hire orientation for all new employees joining our PGTI family. Our team members are incredibly proud to do our part to combat these terrible crimes and save lives.”

The company employs its own team of CDL-certified truck drivers to deliver products, and through the Highway Heroes campaign, PGT Innovations pledges to train 100% of the drivers in their fleet to identify and report human trafficking.

In October 2020, Attorney General Moody and FLHSMV launched the Highway Heroes campaign, with the goal of enlisting more commercial truck drivers in the fight to end human trafficking.

Three months later, Attorney General Moody and FLHSMV shifted the campaign into high gear ahead of Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

As the National Football League’s championship game approached, a strategic multimedia outreach effort targeting half a million CDL holders in Florida was underway—sending digital messages directly to drivers, encouraging participation in training on learning to spot, report and end human trafficking.

Through the efforts of this campaign, nearly 4,000 truck drivers from Florida are now TAT certified.

Highway Heroes is just one of the many anti-human trafficking initiatives spearheaded by Attorney General Moody as Chair of the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking.

The council consists of 15 members from law enforcement, prosecutors, legislators, and experts in the health, education, and social services fields who work to build on existing state and local partnerships to combat human trafficking.

For more information about the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking, click here.

Commercial truck drivers are not the only Floridians who can gear up to combat human trafficking. All citizens can join the fight by learning how to spot and stop human trafficking at YouCanStopHT.com.

If you suspect cases of human trafficking, contact local law enforcement and call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

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